Quick-action electric switch.



J. A. COLE.

'QUICK ACTION ELECTRIC SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. so, 1911.

n l [TB @d vTOI-IIN' A. OGLE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

QUICK-ACTIGN ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.y

- Patented Nov. 26, 1212.

Application led August 30, 1911. Serial No. 646,841.

Fo a-ZZ whom it may "concern: V n

Be it known that I, JOHN A. COLE, a c1t1- Zen of the United States,residing at the city.

oflNew York, in the borough of Queens and State of New York, haveinvented certainv new and useful Improvements in Quick- Action ElectricSwitches, of which the following is a. full, clear, and exactdescription.

the said mechanism may This invention relates to electric switches, andhas for one of its objects the provision of an improved positivelyacting mechanism for abruptly opening and closing such switches.

Another object of my invention is to so dispose the operative parts ofthe device that the contact elements and substantially all of bepositioned to the rear of a switchboard, leaving but little more thanthe switch handle audits supporting bracket upon the'front of saidboard.

A further object of my invention is to so arrange the movable contactelements of my switch that they are aided in action by gravity.

My invention contemplates the inclusion in the switch operatingmechanism above referred to, of toggle acting parts and the combinationtherewith of spring impelled elements which insure the unfailingoperation of the device.

.These and other objects of my invention will be hereinafter describedand: more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

ln the drawings which form a part hereof and in which like referencecharacters designate like parts throughout the several views: Figure 1is a vertical longitudinal section of a switch constructed in accordancewith the principles of my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical transversesection taken on the line IIII of Fig. 1.` Fig. 3 is averticaltransverse section taken on line IIIe-IH of Fig. 1. Fig. 4- is a smallscale illustration of the switch parts and operating mechanism with 4.the switch in closed position.

The switchboard proper has been broadly designated 1, and has secured tothe front thereof a bracket 2 which is provided with outstanding lugs 3through which extends the shaft or pin 4 upon which the' operating lever5 is mounted. Upon the rear side of the switchboard is mounted a secondbracket (i which indirectly supports the contacts. An' extension 7 ofbracket 6, which projects rearwardly from the 'may be made of slightlybase-thereof carries an insulating base block or plate 8, the eXtension7 vbeing preferably bifurcated to provide arms 9 to which said plate issecured in any suitable manner. The plate 8 is preferably provided withalined apertures 10 disposed adjacent the center thereof for thereception of threaded thimbles 11 which are secured firmly in positionby means of nuts 12; said nuts in the exempliiication shown beingreceived into a recess 13 into which open the recesses 10, abovereferred to. Suitable plastic insulating material 14 may be pouredaround these nuts when in position, securing them against inadvertentdisplacement, and also providing insulation therebetween. VaShers 15 arealso preferably provided in connection with these nuts; being' alsoembedded in the plastic insulating mass. A U-bolt 16 extends through thethimbles 10 and is freely movable longitudinally therein, the lowerextremities of the arms of this bolt being threaded as at 17 to alfordmeans for securing an insulating block 18 thereupon; this block beingadjust ably held upon the U-bolt in any desired position by .means ofwashers 19 and nuts 20. Block 18 carries somewhat Y-shaped metallicblocks 21 upon either side thereof, which blocks in turn .carry thepreferably V-shaped leaves 22 which constitute the movable cont-acts.These leaves may be of copper or other suitable material, and shouldhave considerable elasticity so that when their upper edges are vdrivenagainst the fixed Contact pieces 23, the legs of the Vs will be spreadapart thereby effecting very perfect electrical connections at therespec v tive points of contact. The leaves are held firmly in positionin the blocks 21 by means of triangular clamping blocks 24; screws 25being threaded into the bases of blocks 21 to this end. The outermostV-shaped leaf 26 heavier gage metal than the inner leaves, and is alsopreferably provided at its contact making edges with beads 27 to obviateany possibility of such leaves buckling, as after considerable use thecontact making surfaces of the pieces 23 may become slightly roughenedor burned. The burning of such surfaces is a remote possibility,however,since the switch parts in operation make and break contact so quicklythat arcing is substantially eliminated. i

The Contact pieces 23'may be' secured to the block 8 in any suitablemanner, and are preferably Lfshaped, the outstanding shorter legs ofsuch members being adapted to be drawnirmly into contact with thedepending stems 28 of the terminals 29. The bodies of these terminalsare disposed in recesses 30, vpreferably adjacent either end of theblock 8, said terminals being adapted for the usual soldered connectionwithv the extremlties of the lead wires. (n'the particular switchexemplified, upon the upper side of the block 8 and between the arms 9of the bracket 6, are two toggle brackets 31, one such bracket beingupon either side of the center line of the said block, and thesebrackets carry a pinv 32 which may be se- 4cured therein in any suitablemanner, as by means of split cotters 33; said pin 32 carrying the links34which form the lower portions of toggles,'broadly designated 35, theupper links of these toggles beingvrespec-l tively designated 36. Theupper extremities of links 36 are apertured for the reception of a pin37 which may be held in position by split cotters 33 in like manner topin 32. Between the links 36 is a lever 38-'through which the pin 37extends; the inner end of said lever being pivotally mounted at 39between the ears 40 of a small bracket 41. This bracket 41 is adjustablevertically with respect to bracket` 6, being l clamped thereagainst bymeans of screws 42; the holes 43 in the base of bracket A1 through whichthese screws extendl being slotted to permit of the adjustmentabovereferred to. A set screw 44 extends through a lug 45 which projectslaterally from the upper extremity of the bracket 6, and this set screwpermits of very accurate adjust ment of the bracket 41 with respect tobracket 6, and thereby of the pivotal pin 39, with respect to pin 32..The rear extremity of ,the lever 38 is slotted as at 46 forthe`reception of the horizontal portion 47 of the U-bolt 16. The links34-and`36 are pivotally connected together to complete the toggle bymeans of a Across-pin 47, which is permanently secured in a rod 48. Therod 48 and the cross-pin 47 are movable through a slot 49 in a link orbar 50; the outer eX- t-rernity of said bar being pivotally connected at51 in any suitable manner to the operating` lever '5 of the switch. Theslot 49 is reduced at its forward extremity 49 fo'r the reception of aflattened portion 52 of the rod 48 above referred to; this construe tionpreventing said rod from rotating, and permitting onlv longitudinaldisplacement thereof. The slot 49 is somewhat greater in width than thediameter of rod`48 to afford space for the reception of a. helicalspringv 53, the forward .extremity of which bears against the shouldersformed in the slot 49 by the reduction in the width thereof in themanner above described, while therear ex-l -lirinly held in place.

tremity of this spring is preferably coiled around past the pin 4T sothat the spring is The forward ex- .tremityof the spring 53is alsolpreferably secured to the bar 50, as at 53. Bar 50 rides freely in aslot 54 which extends through board 1 and the brackets Q and 6: and therear extremity of this bar is adapted for engagement with a spring latch55 when the link has been driven almost completely7 to its innermostposition.A This latch preferably consists simply of a somewhat Z- shapedspring which is secured-to the block .8 in any'suitable manner; theupper p0rtion of the spring being turned over to form a lip 56 which isadapted for engagement with the rear extremity of the lever 38; the lip56l being adapted to enter the slot 46 and to thereby prevent the upwardmovement of ylever 38 until the latch has been disengaged therefrom. Thelower rear corner of the lever 38 is preferably beveled as at 57 inorder to insure the engagement of the latch with the slotted portion ofsaid lever, when the lever is being swung downward into latch engagingposition. The bar 50 may be guided laterally by the side walls of theslot 54, and its `rear extremity rides between the brackets 31.

The operation of the switch is as follows: Assuming that the parts -aredisposed as shown'in Fig. 1 with the latch in engagement with they,lever 38, the toggle .will be broken and thespring 53 will have urgedthe bar .50 and thereby the handle lever 5 .substantially to itsouter-most positionf By reason of the engagement of the U-bolt 16 withlever 38 the said bolt, and thereby the elastic contact blades carriedupon the extremity thereof, will be in their lo'wermost positions, theswitch being open. Upon pressing thehandle tc-ward'the board, bar 50will be driven inwardly, and spring 53 will be placed under compression,thus bringing pressure, which. will increase as the .handle is throwninwa'rdly, upon the pin 47 and thereby upon the toggle parts, tending toaline the latter, and elevate the lever 38. This action, however,is'resisted bythe latch, and no movement of the `flexible .contacts willoccur until the innermost extremity or nose of the bar 5() encountersvthe latch. Thereafter, a'further inward movement'of the bar 50 effectsa disengagement of the latchv from lever 3 8, when the spring 53, whichis now under substantially its maximum compression becomes free to drivethe pin 47, rearwardly, thereby ab ruptly elevating'the lever 38 throughthe instrumentality of the' toggles; resulting in an almostinstantaneous closure of the switch, and bendingthe legs of the elasticcontact leaves 22 apart. When the switch is closed the toggle parts aresub" .'.antialhr in alineinent but are preferably not exactly so, thepin 47 being driven rearwardly just beyond a line connecting the pivotalaxes of links 3l and 3G. .i stop 57 `being suitably positioned, upon thelever 38, for limiting the rearward movement of the toggle parts. Toopen the switch, the handle is pulled outwardly and the lirst movementin that direction of the bar 50 enables the latch to spring back intoits normal or engaging position; but. since the pin 47 has previouslybeen driven past. the line connecting the centers of pins 32 and 37, thespring action of the .elastic leaves '22, ,acting through the U-bolt,lever 38 and the toggle, will he sufiicient to resist the.forwardmovement of the pin i? until the rear wall of the slot 49 comes-intoengagement with the rear end of the rod a3; the springv 53 beingmeanwhile placed under tension. Thereafter the outward movement of thebar 50 ypositively forces the toggle linksA out of falineiiient,breaking the toggle, and thereby enabling lthe spring 53 to abruptlyeffect the downward displacement of the contacts 22.

By adjusting the screw 4A upwardly or downwardly, the correspondingmovement of pivot 39 will move the outer end of the lever 38 upwardly ordownwardly about the pin 37 as a pivotso that when the toggle isstraightened the U-bolt will be drawn upward to a greater or lessextent, said adjustment serving'to increase or decrease the pressurebetween the elastic leaf contacts 22 of the stationary contacts 23.

,Tt should be here noted that the lever 38 serves to multiply thecomparatively sliglft movement of the pin 37 so as to produce arelatively long movement of the movable contacts in practically thesaine lapse of time as would be rconsumed for a shortr` movement`without the lever. A more rapid make and break is thus secured.

Normally the momentum of the moving parts will be sutlicient to effectthe rengagement of the latch with its lever.. lf, however, it be desiredto insure positively that. such latching action shall invariably occureven if the handle 5 be drawn outwardly very slowly, light compressionsprings 58 may be providedon the depending arms of the U-bolt 1G,intermediate the thimbles 10 and the nuts 2O upon the upper side of theblock 18, which springs will exert sutlicient effort upon the bolt 16and thereby upon the lever 38 to insure the engagement of latch andlever 38; the handle ofcourse being correspondingly driven to itsoutermost position. I prefer also to provide bumper springs 59 upon therespective arms of the U-bolt above the block 8, these springs neverbeing under any material compression,

` but merely serving to reduce the shock due to the forceful and rapiddisplacement' of the holt and its attendant contacts when the switch isopenedA To this end, the respec-A Several advantages accrue fromconstructing a switch in the manner whichv l have described. In the rstplace, both the making and the breaking of the circuit." are extremelyrapid. Further the switch parts employed are relatively inexpensive tomanufacture; and the switch elements proper may all be disposed upon therear side of the board, enabling them to be inclosed in suitablevcasings 62 while ,all that is visible of the switch upon the front ofthe hoard'is 80 its handle, the supporting bracket therefor, and a smallportion of the bar 50. The electrical connections are readily` made tothe swit'ch by means of the'terminalsl; and

While I have' shown a four-pole switch, it 85 is obvious that myinvention may be einyployed in connection with switches of other types.The toggle action in connection with the yie'ldingly mounted rod andlatch is regarded -as of considerable importance, as is also theparticular 4co-action between the elastic contact leaves andthe toggle,with the further positive breaking of the toggle by the outward movementof the handle.

I particularly direct attention to the fact 95 that my switch not onlyopens rapidly but closes with substantially equal rapidity, even when.the operating handle is moved' quite slowly. Further Athe switch whileadapted to carry heavy currents, if made of proper proportions, occupiesbut little space upon the switchboard by reason of the rearwarddisposition of its elements.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. ln an electric switch, a .plurality of contact elements and mechanismfor abruptly placing said elements in contact with each other, saidmechanism including pivotally mounted toggle parts, a spring adapted toexert pressure upon at least onefiio of said parts, ,for driving theirpivotal points substantially into alinement, means for positivelyopposingsaid pressure, and means for displacing said opposing means.

A2. In an electric switch, plurality of 115 Contactvl` elements and`mechanism for abruptly placing said elements in contact with eachother, said mechanism including toggle forming parte, a spring adaptedVwhen stress is applied thereto to exert pres- 12o sure upon at least oneof said parts, for driving them into substantial. alinement, means for,opposing said pressure, and means for displacing said opposing means.

3. In an electric switch, a plurality of contact elements and mechanismfor abruptly placing said elements in contact with each other, saidmechanism including y a toggle, said togglebeing normally broken whenthe switch is open, a spring for dispos- 13 0.

nient, a latch tor opposing said spring, and

, tact elements and mechanism including an spring, said'carrier beingbodily movable contact vdisplacing said lever, means tor holding said'means being movable initially by a move- -ment of said handle and beingadapted for parts of said toggle in substantial alinel,

means toiy disengaging said latch. l,

4. In an electric switch,` a plurality of' elements' and mechanism forabruptly placing said elements in contact with eachother, said mechanismincluding a lever, a support, thrust connections between said lever andsaid support adapted, when operated', to displace said lever withrespectl to said support, means for placing said connections understress, no-rmal movement of said connections under said stress leveragainst displacement, and means for disengaging said holding means whensaid stress has attained substantially a maximum.

5. In an electric switch, a plurality ot contact elements and mechanismincluding an actuating handle for abruptly separat-ing said elements.regardless of the speed of the, switch opening movement of said handle,said mechanism comprising pivotally connected parts constituting atoggle, said contactelements when in contact being normally held firmlytogether by said toggle, and means tor breaking said `toggle, saidmovement substantially independently ot said handle after such initialmovement. 6. In an electric switch, a plurality of conactuating handlefor, abruptly separating said elements regardless of the speed ot theswitch opening movement of said handle, said mechanism comprising asupport, a lever mounted independently of said support and thrustconnections between said lever and said support for holding said leverspaced from saidsupport, said thrust connections normally resistinginitial switch opening movement of said lever toward said support whensaid contact elements are in' ('perat-ive relationship. 7. 'In anelectric switch, a .plurality of contact elements and mechanism forabruptly placing said elements in contact with eac other, said'mechanism including resilient vmeans adapted to nove said contactstogether; a latchfor positively retaining said contacts separated; acarrier for said spring having a rif-ness adapted to receive saidtowardsaid' latch for compressing said spring; and' igieans slidable in saidcarrier adapted to retatr. said spring in said recess; said carrierbeing adapted to directly strike said latch to disengage said latch fromretaining position when said spring is compressed.

8. In an electric switch, xed contact elements, resilient contactelements movable with respect to said fixed elements, a lever for movingsaid resilient elements, a fixed support, connections between said leverand said support, and handle operated means for varying the dispositionof said connections,

'said connections being normally maintained in substantial lalinementwith each other when the contact elements are in operative relationshipby the pressure of said resilient elements against said fixed elementsoperating through said lever.

9. In an electric switch, an insulating support, contacts mountedthereon, a vcontactcarrying part, said part being movable in guidedrelation to said support, a pivoted member adapted to move saidcontact-carrying part, means tor abruptly displacing said pivotedmember, said means including toggle parts, an energy storing device foroperating said toggle parts, a latch for restraining movement of saidparts, and means for releasing said latch when the energy stored in saiddevice has attained substantially a maximum.

10. In an electric switch, an apertured insulatingr bas, fixedccntactscarried thereby,

a U-bolt extending through the apertures in said base, contact piecescarriedv by said U' i bolt, an. actuating lever for said bolt, linkedconnections between said lever and base, a handle, a link between saidhandle and said connections, a spring normally adapted to actuate saidconnections, a latch for said lever, said link being adapted to compresssaid spring when the handle is operated in one direction, and means forreleasing said latch when said link has been further driven in the samedirection.

.. 11. In an electric switch, av plurality of Contact elements andmechanism for abruptly placing said elements in Contact with eachother,said mechanism including resili' e'nt means adapted ,to lmove saidcontacts together; a l'atcli for positively retaining movable towardsaid latch for placing said resilient means under stress, said lastmentioned means being adapted to directly strike said latch to disengagesaid latch from retaining position when said resilient means hasattained substantially a maximum stress.

12.'Av In anelectric switch, a plurality'vof contact elements andmechanism for abruptly placing said element-s in contact with .A eachother, said mechanism including a com- .pression spring adapted tomovesaid contacts together; 'latch Jorpositively retaining said contacts.separated; and ay carrier for said spring bodily movable toward saidlatch for compressing said spring, said carrier being adapted todirectly strike said latch to disengage said latch from retainingposition when said spring is compressed.

13. In anA electric switch; fixed contact elements; resilient contactelements movable saidA contacts separated; yand means bodily withrespect to said fixed contact elements; 1

n, fixed support; connections between said fixed support and saidmovable Contact elements adapted to be maintained in one position by thepressure of said movable contact elements against seid i'ixed Contactelements for preserving tlie pressure between said contact elements.l"and means for adjusting said pressure.

le. n an electric switch; fixed Contact elements; resilient Contactelements movable with respect to saidxed Contact elements; zi ixedsupport; connections between said fixed support and seid movable Contactelements including o toggle; ineens for multiplying the thrust of saidtoggle upon seid movable Contact elements, said toggle being` adapted tobe maintained in one position by the pressure or said movable contactelements zigainst'said fixed Contact elements for preserving t-liepressure between said Contact elements; and means for adjusting saidpressure.

ln Witness whereof, l subscribe my signaltnre, in the presence of twoWitnesses.

JOHN A. CLE. Vlitnesses:

Fniinnnrc WM. ERICKSON, WILLrAM J. SULLE/AN.

epes of this patent may be obtained for ive cents eech, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, E?. G.

